Training
From Pedalpushers
PEDALREADY : Pedalpushers CTC Approved Cycle Training
Cycle Instruction in Sheffield with PedalReady
Be Part of the Solution :
Contact Details
- Barry on : 0114 2372630 or 0788 186346
- Or leave a voice or SMS message on the Pedalpushers hot line 07855 194238
- Or email us on training@pedalready.co.uk
- Or write to us
- Barry Raynor
- The Cycle Training Co-ordinator
- Pedal Ready
- 18 Jordanthorpe View
- Jordanthorpe
- Sheffield
- S8 8DY
- Barry Raynor
Pedal Ready Handouts
If you want to be able to hand out
- business cards
- an a5 Flyer
advertising Pedal Ready's services you can download them here:
Both designed to be printed double-sided (the card on thin white or pale blue card).
The Cycling Pledge
What can you do to
- help achieve Sheffield’s targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and reduce congestion
- help to improve neighbourhood safety and security and to increase local area regeneration
- improve your own health and fitness
? You can
| Download and complete the Cycling Pledge |
| Adobe pdf version |
| rtf version |
Rides for newly trained cyclists
Tram-assisted rides
Pedal Pushers is coordinating a series of tram-assisted rides on the last Sunday of each month to Rother Valley Country Park (and one to Wharncliffe Woods). You can download the latest flyer here. For more information please contact Polly or Tony on 0114 2721814.
Women's rides
Pedal Ready organises a series of women-only rides - about 3 or 4 a year. For more information please contact Polly on 0114 2721814 or Pam on 0114 2681390.
CTC
The Sheffield Section of the Cyclists' Touring Club arranges regular rides and some of these are designed to appeal to newer cyclists. All of their rides are graded based upon the pace and terrain (slow, moderately-paced, and fast) and the total distance. If you would like further information about a particular ride, please contact the Ride Leader. Please take lights on all evening and winter rides. For further information about the Sheffield CTC Section or if you would like to ride with us for the first time, please contact the Sheffield Section Secretary, Barry Raynor on 0114 237 2630.
| You can download a list which includes the easy rides - and the social events here: |
| WORD version |
If you want further information about the full range of their activities their website is http://www.syndda.org.uk
What we offer
- One to one training
- training on road
- Assessment of your ability
- Tailor made training packages to suit individuals; Whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced commuter we guarantee that you will benefit from advanced cycle training.
- On-road training, in traffic, on routes you would normally ride.
- Gender matching with your instructor
- Day and evening lessons
Cost
The City Council is currently sponsoring a free 2-hour lesson for any Sheffield resident Further sessions can be arranged with your instructor at £35 for a 2-hour lesson (£20 for Child/Unwaged). Group packages arranged for employers
More About Us
Who are we?
- We are the only team of National Standard cycle instructors in Sheffield. The National Cycling Standard is a scheme funded by the Department for Transport and the Department for Health, as part of the government's National Cycling Strategy. It is accredited by the CTC, which is the largest cycling body in the U.K. We are part of Pedalpushers, which is the Sheffield cycle campaigning group.
- The scheme is the first national cycling scheme to put the cycle journey at the heart of the training process and is supported by all the major cycling and road safety organisations in the U.K.
- We are regular cyclists with over 75 years of combined cycling experience.
Why cycle?
- There are huge health benefits from regular cycling. Medical research has shown that 20-25 minutes of exercise taken at least 3 times per week significantly increases life expectancy, reduces obesity, heart disease and stress.
- Combining exercise with transport is the most effective way of ensuring that you get regular exercise. Relying on, for example, using a gym depends on whether you have the time and motivation to go. Cycling to work or to the shops means that you get exercise and you get to where you want to go at the same time!
- In a congested city cycling is often the quickest available means of transport. It is also usually the cheapest and the most fun!
- There is often a high perceived risk to cycling in traffic. However, studies have shown that for the average person the health benefits outweigh the risks by as much as 20:1. Careful, confident cyclists very rarely have problems on the roads and benefit their health and the environment.
Why have cycle instruction?
Cycle instruction is an introduction to the pleasure, freedom and healthy lifestyle that cycling can bring. Many people are nervous about city cycling. Cycling instruction will help with route planning, positioning on the road and a graded introduction to busier streets, working at a pace to suit the trainee. Even experienced cyclists, like motorists, develop bad habits that make them feel less safe and confident on the roads. Instruction boosts your confidence so that you enjoy your cycling more.
What do we do?
We offer 3 levels of individualised instruction to meet the needs of all cyclists from the person who has never cycled before to the experienced cyclist who wants advanced training. We normally gender match instructors to trainees. All our instruction starts with an assessment of your needs so that the level of training is right for you.
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Sessions usually last 2 hours and start at your home or workplace.
Cycle Training - Is it worth it?
Cycle training has been shown to increase confidence - see http://www.cycletraining.co.uk/research/cycletrainingworks.pdf - this presents the results of a survey of all people trained in London over recent years. (Warning - 3.5mb)
Results of our post training survey
How does Training affect Cycle Usage?
Pedal Ready Cycle Training Co-operative have conducted a telephone follow up survey of people who received a free – Sheffield City Council sponsored – one-to-one two hour cycling lesson from us. We attempted to contact all trainees who had had a lesson at least 6 months previously in order to assess long-term change in cycling habits after training.
For most people this was effectively a telephone ‘cold call’ as we had not initially included a request for permission to make further contact on our booking questionnaires. However the response was extremely positive, several people even phoning us back if we had left a message. There were 60 trainees - 35 women and 3 teenage girls, and 7 men and 15 boys, who had had lessons between early June 2005 (just before Bike Week when the scheme was launched) and the beginning of April 2006, and of these we managed to contact 51: that is 85%. (of the remaining 9, 3 lads were from a children’s home that has since closed, 2 lads were workers at Heeley Development Trust who are no longer there, 1 woman has left the country, 1 woman is profoundly deaf so not contactable by telephone and 2 lads we were also not able to contact.)
The survey consisted of asking the same questions that appear on our lesson booking questionnaire, so that we have been able to compare responses. This included an open question: ‘How would you describe yourself as a cyclist?’ as well as questions about frequency of cycling in heavy and light traffic and a question about journeys regularly made.
As a result of their cycling lesson 39 achieved their original goal and a large number of people commented on their increased confidence. 8 people couldn’t cycle and now can, 1 person couldn’t cycle and still can’t. 9 people now commute to work where they didn’t before and 3 people have increased the amount of commuting they do. Altogether 35 cycle more often, 7 don’t cycle more often and for 1 it was unclear.
One man commented “I wasn’t sure how much difference the lesson would make, but now I don’t cycle in the gutter any more and I feel confident and a lot safer. I feel that training is THE most important thing for cyclist’s safety, more important than helmets or bike lanes.”
Women tended generally to be somewhat cautious in their self-appraisal. For example one woman said, “I’m no longer a new cyclist but I’m not really experienced. I now cycle to and from work every day (from Stannington to Redvers House about 4 miles each way) and would never have done that without the lesson – I’m immensely happy.” Another said, “I’m definitely an amateur but I do cycle to work 3 times a week now. I’m fairly confident on the road but not if it’s really busy or on roundabouts. My stamina and fitness have increased a lot”; she cycles from Hunters Bar to work at Meadowhead (about 6 steepish miles each way). A third woman cycles from Sheffield 7 to school every day with her son then on to Howden House, from where she does visits by bike – often to Fulwood, sometimes to Pitsmoor or Norton – and later meets her son and cycles home again; also cycling to social events and to the local shops.
The most inspiring response was from a woman who said, “I use my bike to get from A to B, but also have joined a cycling club and had thought I would need to use a car to drive out to the Peaks but now cycle there and back and I’m really chuffed. I’m really grateful for the lesson as, although it sounds a bit dramatic, it’s changed my life.”
A summary of the results.
- Over 80% of trainees cycled more after their lessons (35 out of 43)
- Cycling in light traffic every fortnight or more doubled.
- Cycling in heavy traffic more than once a week doubled.
- No of people who never cycled in traffic went down by 66%
- Before training the vast majority of trainees cycled less than once a month in heavy traffic (77%) - and 60% never cycled at all in these conditions. After training, the majority of cyclists cycled in heavy traffic more than once a fortnight, and almost 30% cycled in heavy traffic nearly every day.
- Before training only one in five trainees cycled in light traffic nearly every day, but after training the figure rose to one in three. In heavy traffic the figure rose from one in eight to more than one in four.
The results in a table
The results in a chart
Success Stories
One of Polly Blacker's Trainees
From: MARION POOLE
Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2007 5:19 PM
Subject: Ex pupil success story
Hello Polly,
I don't know if you know but a friend of mine cycled round some Scottish islands on her own recently and it's all down to you. Her name is Gillian (silly - I have known her for ages but still don't know her surname) and for some years she rode around on the back of her partner Mike's tandem because she was frightened to ride on her own. They went all over the place on it and I never thought she would ever be a solo rider. I was amazed when she visited visited Norfolk recently and proudly showed me her bike. So well done her, and well done you!!
Marion
One of David Bocking's Trainees
York is a cycling city, as we know. On our training course, we watched a child cycle round a multi lane city centre junction, riding one handed, threading through the traffic at speed before continuing on his way. "One of ours," said the trainer beside us." Jon and I were impressed.
My first Rotherham school was Thornhill, where some of the children were, to be polite, 'challenging'. J***, for example, who was great at wheelies, arguing, not getting off his bike when asked and making a noise like a whistling kettle when waiting for his turn to do anything. He was certainly confident, but not so great at looking for traffic, knowing which side of the road to ride on etc etc.
Tim and I were returning to Rotherham station yesterday and stopped at a multi lane town centre junction. J*** sped down a side street and pulled up alongside us. We exchanged a few pleasantries, J*** made a face at the traffic light camera, and when the lights changed moved off, a metre from the kerb, looked behind before moving out, made a life saver check, turned right and rode onto the subway cycle track no handed and disappeared off home.
'One of ours', I said.
Course Structure
| Below is a typical structure for a two hour training session. Elements one and two are compulsory. The format of the remainder of each session is adapted to individual requirements, which will be discussed with the Instructor before the course. A one hour session might include only minor elements of section four.
Inexperienced riders are advised to book a two hour course. Consult the Cycle Training Co-ordinator for further advice on this matter. |  |
Cycle Check (5 minutes)
Each course will commence with a basic cycle maintenance check. (See enclosed sheet.)
Rider Assessment (10 minutes)
The Trainee will be required to demonstrate his/her basic cycle control, off road and/or on quiet roads. This will be assessed by the Instructor, who will observe general road behaviour - traffic awareness, positioning, signalling etc.
General Instruction (45 minutes -1 hour)
This will cover:
- Route Planning
- Observation - general comments about how to and when to observe
- Riding to be Conspicuous - clothing, positioning, signalling
- The Strategy
Points 1-4 will normally be dealt with, at the discretion of the Instructor, through practical demonstration and practice on quieter roads.
Riding in Traffic (Approximately 1 hour)
This will cover the same ground as section three, but normally in heavier traffic and on a route selected by the Trainee. Areas which will be given special attention are:
- Riding Along - hazards to be aware of and hazard perception.
- Lane Discipline - correct positioning for multi-lane roads and junctions.
- Queues - when is it OK to move on the inside/outside and how to do it.
- Junctions - types, handy tips, how to cope with roundabouts.
- Extracts from our Trainer training manual suggesting how trainees can be helped to deal with queues of traffic can be found here: Filtering.doc
At the end of a training session, the Instructor will give an overall assessment of the Trainee's progress. Further training may be recommended and this can be arranged with the Instructor.
CYCLE MAINTENANCE NOTES
Before training begins your Instructor will check the following areas on your bicycle
Brakes
Brakes should bite as soon as the levers are pulled, not when they are tight against the handlebars. Brake blocks also need to be checked for wear and alignment. If they are not aligned properly to the wheel rim they will wear unevenly and be less efficient.
Wheels and Tyres
- Whilst some tyres are designed without tread, most do have it. When the tread is almost gone it is time to get a new tyre.
- Tyres should also be well inflated for use on the road. They should be hard to the touch, requiring strong pressure from a thumb to make any impression on them.
- Wheel rims should also be checked for buckling as this will affect braking.
Chain
- Chain tension on bicycles without derailleur gears can be corrected by loosening the rear wheel and moving it forward or back. When the wheel is tightened up again it should be possible to move the chain no more than the width of a pencil.
- The chain should also be kept well oiled, not least because this will make the bike easier to pedal.
Steering
One area which is often overlooked during maintenance is checking the steering. This can be checked by standing with the front wheel held firmly between your legs while facing the saddle and turning the handlebars against the pressure from your legs. If the steering turns easily, independently from the wheel, then the bolt needs tightening.
Lights
- Lights are compulsory for night riding. A rear red reflector is also compulsory at all times.
- Lights need constant checking. Batteries can go dead, connections can be faulty and the constant jarring of road travel can knock the lights out of alignment
Cycle Size
Ideally, when sitting on a bicycle, you should be just able to touch the ground with the balls of both feet at the same time.
Booking Details
The links below allow you to download our booking questionnaire and a parental consent form if the training is for anyone under 16 years of age.
Please note we can accept electronic copies of the training questionnaire, but for legal reasons, the parental consent form has to be printed out then signed by the child's guardian, and returned to us. Please click on the appropriate links below
Download Forms
| Download Booking Questionnaire | |
| Adobe pdf version | About this file |
| rtf version . | About this file |
| Download Parental Consent Form | |
| Adobe pdf version | About this file |
| rtf version . | About this file |
Contact Details
- Barry on : 0114 2372630 or 0788 186346
- Or leave a voice or SMS message on the Pedalpushers hot line 07855 194238
- Or email us on training@pedalready.co.uk
- Or write to us
- Barry Raynor
- The Cycle Training Co-ordinator
- Pedal Ready
- 18 Jordanthorpe View
- Jordanthorpe
- Sheffield
- S8 8DY
- Barry Raynor
[Schools]
